Indian Motorsports Academy: Why motorsport needs more than just drivers

India’s motorsport calendar has never looked busier. Formula E and MotoGP both made their debuts in 2023, while the launch of the Indian Formula 4 (F4) championship signalled that the country was ready for more. Events such as the Hyderabad E Prix and MotoGP Bharat at BIC drew crowds and international coverage, even if regulatory hurdles meant they did not return the following season. But in order to translate such high-profile moments into a sustainable ecosystem, the industry needs to address its most fundamental gap: people. Indian motorsports will remain in its present state without support at the grassroots level, which is what institutions such as the Indian Motorsports Academy (IMA) aim to provide. Founded in 2023, the IMA focuses on training the engineers, mechanics, and managers who make racing possible. The motorsports scene in any given region depends on who gets to participate and what kind of careers are possible. Pathways into the sport have generally been limited to those with resources or overseas connections. Shubham Sangodkar, founder and CEO, understands the gap intimately. After securing a placement with Red Bull Racing in the UK, he chose to return to India to give others the kind of break he once had to find abroad. Starting small, he offered career counselling and mentorship. That soon connected him to Akhil Reddy and Aditya Patel of Racing Promotions Pvt. Ltd (RPPL). Together, they launched the academy that now runs alongside the Indian Racing Festival, comprising two series: the Indian F4 Championship and the Indian Racing League (IRL). But Shubham set strict terms. Students could not be asked to shoulder the costs of accommodation, food, and travel, or the program would turn into a privilege for the wealthy. “If you get selected but come from a poor household, your parents will say it’s not worth it,” he says. Also Read : TVS One Make Championship winner Saimah Baig opens up on her racing journey What keeps the race running:Each year, the academy selects around 30 students. They are placed in the thick of race weekends, working side by side with professional engineers and mechanics. Shubham says, “All three years, we’ve given high-quality people to the championship, I have to say. Because if they were not of that high standard, eight of them wouldn’t be hired full-time as of today, year three, right?” He adds, “There are so many of them who went abroad for master’s, on scholarships, getting into universities they could only otherwise imagine. And then some of them, even getting jobs through the network, freelancing jobs, the network that they’ve grown from the ecosystem.” For many, the academy is their first taste of what happens behind the scenes at a race weekend, and so it was for Charitha Ankam, a second-year aerospace engineering student. “I never expected myself to be out here in the pits working with mechanics, working with engineers,” she said. “They are giving us hands-on experience and exposure to many people, such as the team principal, the mechanics, people from Malaysia, people from France,” she adds. Samuel D’Souza, who works at IRL to manage spare parts and inventory during race weekends, admits he thought the offer to join IMA was too good to be true. “I think without IMA, we could not even come to a venue such as F4 and IRL. We could not even touch these vehicles. They would just think we are some kids just standing around,” he says. “From here, I can even go to my dream college. I can even approach a proper race team, DTM or anything,” Samual adds. Uday Sharma, a management graduate working in motorsports management in F4, describes the scale of responsibility during a race weekend: from handling driver forms and tyre rotations to coordinating sponsors. “It’s just not about cars running, right? The motorsport is not all about it. That’s what I got to know when I got here,” he says. Also Read : What propelled Ultraviolette to take a top-down product strategy, reveals CEO The road ahead:Looking ahead, the academy aims to scale its annual intake to around 40, eventually offering 100 opportunities a year across engineering, media, and management. The bigger ambition is to become a “talent vertical” — supplying skilled Indian professionals to championships worldwide. “Right now, we’re hiring Malaysian mechanics,” Shubham points out. “Why can’t it be our mechanics?” Yet challenges remain. Motorsport in India is still expensive, bureaucratically tangled, and dependent on imported equipment. Past attempts at consistently hosting F1, MotoGP, and Formula E were met with taxation hurdles and inconsistent government support. Sustainable growth will require not just events, but infrastructural investment and a proper grassroots pipeline. Get insights into Upcoming Cars In India, Electric Vehicles, Upcoming Bikes in India and cutting-edge technology transforming the automotive landscape. First Published Date: 12 Sept 2025, 18:41 pm IST
Source: hindustantimes.com